Looking up EXES.... deal breaker?

Over the past several weeks I have been reading posts about marriages breaking up over Facebook..

All of this "Reconnection" with LOST LOVES ...doesn't seem to be too good for most marriages.. 
the world seems to have gotten WAY. TOO. SMALL..

On one blog (wish I remembered the name) a lady seemed VERY distressed that her husband had been looking up his EX on the net... what should she do?

She had an amazing amount of repsonses telling her to "Kick him to the Curb" - He was a looser
...Let him leave & see just how good he had it with her!

Yaaaa... everyone was hopping on the bandwagon... Drop the bastard...
LOOKING UP EXES on the net is a  DEAL BREAKER.

Really?
I didn't AGREE..but being the CHICKEN that I am ...I didn't post over there... for fear of being lynched..
I decided to bring it over here...

Is this a DEAL Breaker for MOST people?
I admit... I have contact with almost every guy I have ever dated.. is that weird? 
I never really had a BAD BREAKUP... 
 I GOOGLE everyone all of the time... just cause I am NOSeY like that...

I still have occasional contact with  my "first" love.... 
And Bjørn is cool with that.  Ol' Blue Eyes knows I am in there for the long haul...

Not like I am making coffee dates with the Ex's...
Just reconnecting after all of these years..
Especially with facebook... who doesn't want to SEE who he ended up marrying & hoping (just a little) that she isn't as cute as you... (did I just write that?)

Like I said Bjørn is cool with the emails/chats.  He has put his foot down as far  socializing with the ex's.. We have been invited to my ex's wedding... HELLL NO was the answer... 
Last summer we were invited to stay with an Ex & his family as we were driving through Germany... (I didn't even suggest that to Bjørn) 
hell - we live on the other side of the world. from MOST of my ex's. so it isn't as if we are going to BUMP into them in the store... (unlike his ex's a-hem...)


so be HONEST... Haven't you looked up an Ex...? 
How would you feel if your spouse was looking up exes?

Comments

Donna said…
I thought everyone loved looking up exes. It's kind of fascinating to see where they ended up - and it always reminds me that I did pretty darn well for myself by choosing the man I did.

I think as long as you're not spending excessive time updating the ex, you're fine. I wouldn't worry if my husband friended his old girlfriends, either - but then we have access to each other's FB accounts, so what's to worry about? And like you, we live halfway around the world (we're in Jordan), so I don't have to worry about anyone knocking on my door.
Oh heck yeah! I've TOTALLY looked up my ex's. It is not a big deal in my book.

It also helps me to remember WHY I am not why I'm with those people any longer. :)
This does not apply to everyone obviously, but...for the most part...I think it's different for men. Men have fantasies (sometimes) in their head about what could have been, etc. And the more they talk, think about theses exes, it leads to more curiosity. And more curiosity leads to them meeting up w the exes. "Just to see." And the result? Marriages break up.

I think women look up exes mostly out of curiosity. I think we just want to know "do I look better/skinnier than their current wife/girlfriend?" And then we move along.

That's my personal view, and I know it's not the same for all. But just what I've observed thus far!

When is your House Hunters airing? Did I miss the memo on that? Can't wait to see!!! =)
I said curiosity twice, LOL but you know what I meant. Normal curiosity for women.
MommyLisa said…
Its not the "looking up" on Facebook that is the problem...

its the socializing, ahem, that causes trouble.
Julie H said…
I've looked up and have been "looked up", which is flattering :) I have chatted with them on there too. It's all harmless as far as I'm concerned but then I'm feeling ok with my marriage right now too.
Kacie said…
I actually never lost contact with my exes. I think it's important that your current significant other be a part of your interactions with exes. I still call those guys friends, and if I see them it's in the context of a group outing with my husband there... so they know and are friends with my husband too, and see us together.

I don't think one-on-one extended communication is healthy.
Frizzy said…
I have looked up exes and had an ex or two contact me too.

Like Donna, my hubby and I share email accounts and he has access to my/our FB account. I have friended his HS and College buddies and he uses the account to chat with them instead of setting up his own.

In addition, if I've ever felt uncomfortable with a comment someone has made I tell them so immediately. If they say something I know my hubby would be unhappy with or question then I tell them to knock it off. If it happens again I stop communication completely. FB and exes are not worth losing my husband or family over.
I think it's natural to be curious about where people are in life, especially those that you loved at some point & spent any significant amount of time with. Actually contacting them might be OK in some circumstances, but you start getting into a real gray area if you want to re-friend them.
Skogkjerring said…
Totally agree with what everyone has written so far, no danger in looking up exes and it's very interesting to see where they ended up and sometimes you find yourself wondering what in the world you saw in that person at the time and appreciating how your taste gets better with age..the danger is when people aren't in a happy place in their marriage and look up exes hoping to maybe rekindle something that was there a thousand years ago..I think socializing with exes has to be an individual thing, some couples might be ok with it while others not..probably the same could be true of writing to an ex also..but again it's on an individual basis...kicking someone to curb might be an idea if the marriage is bad to begin with and he takes contact with an ex..but not if you're in a great marriage and he's just curious like the rest of us are..I wouldn't kick him to the curb then..
Have a great Saturday :-)
Kelli Nørgaard said…
Only giving my two cents since you asked.. :-)
I would not want Mads to reconnect with his exes on FB and out of the same respect, I would never reconnect with mine.
That part of my life is over and done and there is nothing beneficial to my future to pursue something like that.
If I am "curious", I would rather focus that curiosity on my husband and the adventures we can have together....
Robbi said…
I agree with those who say that looking up an ex anonymously can be interesting, to see how much you have grown and evolved, and to see how they ended up. But only if it can be done anonymously, without friending the ex on Facebook for example. Otherwise it's not worth even trying.

I have heard things about my exes, and when I do, it just validates how much I have grown and improved for the better! :D

The past is past, and I'd rather remain focused on the here and now, with my lovely husband.
Jeanne Estridge said…
Old Dog only has one ex, and since they have 5 kids, she's kind of on the fringes of our lives anyway. And mine passed away, and thank God even Mark Zuckerman hasn't figured out the technology to get around that.
This was a great read, and one that I think many people can relate to.

I gave you one of my weekly awards which you can collect anytime you like, if you like! :)
Miche said…
I'm with you; I don't think it is a deal breaker-even if there was some flirting over FB going on-all that shows is that there needs to be some serious work on the marriage.

I am friends with ex's on facebook, but all of them were people I dated a few months, at most, and all were from WAY back in high school. Now we chat once in a blue moon about kids or old band memories.

And I am sure my husband talks with ex's, but I don't care, and he doesn't tell me. I'd rather not know. Knowing would make me jealous-something that wouldn't be fun and something that would be silly. Bill's been my best friend for over 10 years, so no matter how many "friends" each of us has over FB, we both know who is our number one friend. :)
viviene said…
my ex just sent me a long msg in fb and realized afterwards that he removed me from his fb friends' list. oh well. =p
i didnt bother adding him in fb. and i don't really want to know whats up with him. =p

visiting from Giraffe tribe =)
Anonymous said…
Hi :)
who can honestly say after several relationships that she/ he didn't look how the exes are on the web?? It's so not a dealbreaker. It becomes one, once you intend to do more with them in contrary to just see how their life went on afterwards. I am nosey as hell but wouldn't want anything from any of my exes. My partner has to know that, forbidding me to look them up is a cage I don't want to live in.
tulpen said…
Funny. My husband and I were just talking about how ridiculous this is. He'd gotten a FB request from an old high school friend, who after he accepted, sent him a message apologizing because her husband was super jealous and pissed that she friended him... she also thought she'd be making trouble with me.

WTF???


Like I give a crap about some chick he knew 30 years ago?

We've BOTH checked out Exes online. Together. Just for kicks.

I don't have a jealous bone in my body though, he could go have dinner with an old flame and I'd jokingly ask him how the sex was.

We're cool like that. Thank gawd!!
Rachel said…
Not a deal breaker at all! You should have commented just to stir the pot a little. lol
Rachel said…
By the way, I'm nosy like that too!
Chelsea said…
In this day, when social mediums are the mainstay of keeping in touch, how could you NOT look up an ex? I always do, partly because I'm nosy, partly because I just want the extra confirmation that no one ended up an ax-murderer or something. :) If it's a deal-breaker, I think there's too much insecurity in the relationship!
Eve said…
Both my husband and I have reconnected with ex's -not all of them, just the one's we had friendships with. It hasn't bothered either of us...
BUT there is nothing romantic about it. We don't spend hours online with those past flames, and there is no hooking up for catch up dates in person or anything like that.
I think it's fine - and normal - to want to see how the people from your past are doing today (especially if they were good friends). But if it upsets your spouse, then I think you should be considerate of their feelings first - how they feel is what matters most and if you can't respect that, then there IS a problem to be concerned about.

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